


Blooming in Winter

by rosecolouredkeyblade



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25265089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosecolouredkeyblade/pseuds/rosecolouredkeyblade
Summary: Ruby has been feeling down, lately. Well, she's been feeling down for a while. Coping with the past has been... difficult. Plunging herself into work, she meets an individual who just might manage to change that.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, James Ironwood/Winter Schnee, Jaune Arc/Cinder Fall, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Oscar Pine/Penny Polendina, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work, so any criticism is appreciated, thank's for reading. Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Edit: I just noticed that all chapters were posted in html and not rich text. This has now been changed so italics appear where they should. Apologies for any confusion this caused when reading.

Ruby paced around the empty flower shop for what felt like the hundredth time today, looking for something, anything, to do. She would even welcome a speck of dust at this point, just something to signify that it was time to clean the shop for- she counted on her fingers -the sixth time today. Business hadn't been great lately at Red Like Roses, and Ruby was bored. Her quaint little corner of Vale had been well known for on-time and quality flower delivery for the longest time, or at least, it had been while her mother owned it.

She could remember the bustle of customers and the happy faces, it was her biggest inspiration for taking over the shop. She had promised herself that she would always greet the customers with her warmest heart and widest smile. But now… well, now it just felt like every day was the same. The days blended together. Even so, she'd always managed until now, so why had it been so hard lately? What was it about the daily routine that was boring her so much? Still, she had to look after the shop. If she didn't, no one else would after all.

As she reached the deepest point of her internal discussion, she was awoken by the noise of the doorbell, aptly serving its purpose of alerting her to the presence of new customers entering the store. This customer, however, seemed different from the other rare customers. She seemed… well, snobbier, for lack of better word. Red Like Roses was a well-known flower shop, but not well known enough to attract this calibre of customer.

She held herself with an air of dignity, her stark white hair in no way detracting from her youthful grace or beauty. A handbag hung from her shoulder which Ruby was certain had cost more than her entire wardrobe. Her snow-white dress was accented with blue patterns at the bottom, which faded from the hem stopping short of her waist, on which sat a silver belt, accented with a white buckle on which was emblazoned a snowflake that anyone in Vale who didn't live under a rock would recognise, it belonged to Schnee corporation. She donned a red scarf, which she removed and set down upon entering the store, having left the chilly winter air.

Realising she had been standing gawking, Ruby snapped herself out of her trance and moved to greet the customer, who upon closer inspection had a dim scar over her left eye.

"Hi! Welcome to Red Like Roses! I'm Ruby, how can I help you today?" Ruby declared cheerfully, almost bouncing up and down at the excitement of finally seeing another human being in the store, it felt like it had been forever. She extended her hand out for the girl to shake.

"Weiss." The girl took Ruby's hand expectantly, daintily shaking it before crossing her arms and looking around at the flowers on the shelves and walls.

"I'd like to place an order. The flower shop we had originally planned on ordering from has… well things didn't work out. It'll be a big order so it's probably best if I speak to the owner." She spoke condescendingly into Ruby's oblivious smile. Ruby nodded at her, expecting her to continue talking. Weiss waited in awkward silence for a minute or so before speaking again.

"So, if you could go and get the owner for me, that would be great…"

Ruby realised that Weiss didn't know. She replied in her usual bubbly tone. "That would be me. What is it you're looking for?"

Weiss' expression shifted into a much less satisfied one. "You're… the owner of this shop?" She said gesturing around, speaking slowly as though Ruby had missed something.

"Sure am!" Ruby replied, still oblivious to the fact that she was being looked down on.

"I see," Weiss said matter-of-factly, readjusting herself to present a more respectful front. "Well, I'm looking for a specific bouquet preparing, there's a lot to it. Will you be able to do it?"

Weiss handed over a piece of paper, listing a detailed bouquet, as well as multiple different ornaments and decorations, containing multiple different types of flower, some of which Ruby was sure a less experienced person would never have heard of. Thankfully, the demand for flowers was… not very high in Vale these days, so Ruby was sure that she would have time to craft even the complex ornaments listed below.

"I can handle this. When's the deadline?"

"Well… Next Thursday…" Weiss said sheepishly.  
Ruby had to take a second to steady herself.

"Wow, they got you good huh?"

"It would seem so. Can you do it or not?" The girl replied impatiently. Ruby couldn't help but notice her eyes shifting nervously, she brought her focus back to the girl's scar, dropping her happy demeanour.

"Yeah, I can definitely do it. Rushing around is something I'm used to anyway." She mused nervously. She thought to herself for a second about the order. "Look, these flowers are hard to come by, and this order is… well, I don't think you're under any illusions that it will be a squeeze. I can get you a quote on it, but it might not be pretty, and there definitely won't be time for me to get you a sample." Ruby shifted her focus, realising she might be staring too much.

"Well, the circumstances aren't great on my end either," Weiss replied angrily, her face flushing with indignation at the audacity of an employee telling her how it is. What is she even staring at anyway? The scarred beauty thought to herself.

"Can you do it or not?" The white-haired girl repeated impatiently. Ruby's expression shifted from serious to joyous in an instant.

"Of course I can do it! I wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this!" Ruby beamed. "Especially not from-" Ruby cut herself short, not knowing how to finish her sentence, or why she started it to begin with. An awkward pause ensued, the silence broken by the less-than-eager customer.

"Especially not from…?" The girl questioned, tapping her foot on the ground, visibly irritated at the encounter.

"Especially not from… a paying customer such as yourself?" Ruby replied uncertainty, nervously scratching the back of her neck, and letting a smile crack through her shy surface.

It was all Weiss could do to suppress her chuckle, but she had been raised better than that.

After a minute or so of silence, Ruby turned around slowly, pivoting on her heels, to make her way back to the cluttered desk that her cash register sat on, the workspace covered in miscellaneous forms and sketches of flowers and bouquets. Somewhere on the messy desk was her pad of paper. The issue with that, however, was that Ruby was certain she would have an easier time finding an empty sheet of paper in a field of snow than she would on her own desk. She shuffled awkwardly until she located a piece of paper, and having now completed the first stage of the long and arduous mission, began the (potentially even longer) search for a working pen. Ruby was all too aware of her apparent unprofessionalism under Weiss' harsh gaze and wordless scrutiny.

Weiss eventually got tired of watching the act and fished through her own bag for a pen, which she handed Ruby. Ruby didn't have time to be taken aback at its quality, and, having already wasted enough of her customer's precious time, removed the lid of the pen and was surprised to find it was a fountain pen; she had never held one before. She scribbled on the piece of paper in front of her, occasionally glancing to Weiss' reference sheet for… reference, and glancing at other pieces of paper on her desk. She drafted the price and quickly summed it up, handing Weiss the receipt to look over, her anxiety kicking into gear and giving her a front-row seat in her full HD panic-induced anxiety-ridden vision that the high-class girl would scoff at her high price and take her business elsewhere.

"Are you sure this is right?" Weiss asked uncertainly, taking Ruby by surprise with the forwardness of her question.

"Ummm… I'm pretty sure. Why?" Ruby replied with a question, a habit she had when she was nervous.

"Well, I thought… I thought it would be more." Weiss stated. Ruby burst out laughing.

After a minute or so of laughter, Ruby calmed herself and once again set eyes upon Weiss' scar, it becoming a focal point to give the illusion of maintaining eye contact. Weiss was visibly shocked at Ruby's outburst, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"I am so sorry, I just… That is the last thing I expected you to say." Ruby finally said between regaining her breath.

Weiss had to take a moment to fully process what had just happened, and unsure of exactly what to say, instead settled for reaching into her bag and pulling out her purse.

"You want to pay now?" Ruby asked this time surprised herself.

"Of course, when else would I pay?"

"Well just… usually, people pay after the flowers are delivered with orders this size." Ruby replied, surprised at Weiss' willingness to throw money at a promise she couldn't be certain would be fulfilled.

"Ahh… Well, I'd prefer to pay now if that's alright, get it out of the way." Weiss said, still unsure of how to address a girl so oblivious to her own status that she would laugh at not only a customer but a Schnee to boot.

"Uhhh okay," Ruby replied. "Well I need you to fill in this form first, so I know where to deliver the flowers to, and who they're for." She said, turning and pulling a piece of paper out of her barely organised pigeon holes behind the counter before handing it to Weiss.

Weiss took the paper less than eagerly and filled in the details, venue, name, contact details etc, handing the form over to Ruby when she finished filling it in.

Ruby perused the form before simply stating "You have nice handwriting,” eliciting a blush from the white-haired girl, and a sheepish "Thank you."

Taking note of the delivery address, Ruby asked: "Are the flowers for a wedding." Of course, she had seen the designs, the flowers were obviously for a wedding, but Ruby had learned the hard way not to presume this sort of thing.

"Yes," Weiss replied bluntly, clearly signalling that she wanted to end this encounter as soon as possible. A signal which Ruby ignored.

"Your wedding or…?" Ruby asked obviously, taking no time for subtlety with her small talk, and doing so as she filled in some forms herself, still using Weiss' pen.

"My sister's." Weiss again replied bluntly, but this time perhaps less abruptly.

"And what are they like?" Ruby asked, her inquisition slowly breaking down Weiss' will to resist the menial chatter.

"He… is, well, not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's got a good heart I suppose." Weiss thought of her sister's husband-to-be.

"You don't sound too happy about it?" Ruby looked up from her page for a second.

"No, he's fine… it's just…" Weiss trailed off. "What about you? Aren't you a little bit young to be running a store? Don't you have school?"

"I'll have you know I'm 19!" Ruby answered buoyantly. "And I kinda left college, midway through the first year." She felt her gusto fading to honesty.

"Why?" Weiss asked before she could check herself, instantly regretting her rudeness for prying.

Ruby's expression changed at the question, falling to a more tired and scared one, before shifting back to her happy mask. "It's just not for everyone I guess." The dark-haired girl smiled reassuringly. She stood up and gathered the forms she had just filled in before moving over to the cash register and punching in the price, all the while ignoring Weiss' look of subtle concern. The girls moved in silence, with Weiss paying and making her way to the door, before turning as though to say something, deciding against it and leaving.

Ruby collapsed back into her chair, something about the encounter with the girl had left her mentally drained. She thought about the conversation, replaying it in her mind and slipping into a reflective trance, snapped out of it by the literal snapping of her sister's fingers in front of her face, and coming back into reality to be face to face with Yang's deep amethyst eyes.

"Earth to Ruby. You ready to go?" The blonde asked, smiling cheerfully in her sister's face. Ruby felt like she had been asleep, but couldn't be sure.

"Yeah," she replied groggily, before grabbing her deep red coat and following the older girl out of the door, walking past the red scarf on the counter and locking the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

"So…" Yang broke the silence of the car journey finally.

"So?" Ruby beckoned Yang to continue.

"Well, you were pretty spaced out in there. What's on your mind, Sis?" Yang inquired.

"Nothing really, just one of those days, I guess," Ruby said, stretching as she did.

"Busy?" Yang continued the conversation halfheartedly.

"Not really, there was only one customer all day." Ruby thought back to her encounter with Weiss, and how she had been unable to take her mind off of it all day.

  
"She was… interesting, though." Ruby added.

"One customer? You think the shop will be alright if this keeps up?" Yang asked, raising a concerned eyebrow.

"If it's, anything like today, definitely. The order she placed was huge." Ruby emphasised the last word with a hand gesture.

"How huge?" Yang smiled.

"Like, it'll keep the shop going for at least a couple of months," Ruby answered.

"That big?" Yang asked.

"Yeah… it was a lot."

"Who could need that many flowers?" Yang was genuinely curious.

"Well, the Schnees, I think…" Ruby's response almost causing Yang to stop the car.

Yang quickly pushed her agape jaw back into the vicinity of her face and looked away from the road at Ruby to check that her sister wasn't messing with her.

"You're making flowers… for the Schnees? You're messing with me, right? Why would they come to your flower shop when they have all the flower shops in Vale to choose from?"

"Yeah… the place they were gonna order from pulled out at the last minute, so they came to me, I guess."

"At the last minute? When's the deadline?" Yang looked concerned.

"It's just next Thursday. Don't worry I've got loads of time." Ruby said reassuringly, her cheerful smile returning to comfort her sister.

"Just don't overdo it," Yang said sternly.

"Jeez, Mom," Ruby said jokingly, before turning her half-serious face on. "Don't worry, I won't."

"I just… don't want you to work yourself to death. You're still a kid, you know? You should be getting out of that flower shop and hanging out with your friends. You should be screaming at Dad that you hate him and you're moving out. I worry about you, Sis." Yang was a little too serious.

"I think you're overreacting to a good thing, Yang. It's just a big flower order. It's not like I'm gonna collapse from exhaustion from putting chrysanthemums in paper bags. And besides, I like working at the shop; it's… all we have left, you know?" Ruby let a sombre smile Yang's way.

"I just think you should let go of the past, Rube. It's been 5 years now. And for the past year, working at that shop is all you do. Are you gonna live in her shadow forever?" Ruby could tell Yang had been holding this in for a while.

"Yang…" Was all Ruby could muster.

"You just… you've changed since you left school, Rube, and if you're happy, like really happy, then that's fine, but I feel like you want something more, you deserve something more." Ruby suddenly noticed how tired Yang looked. Had she been working late again?

"I'm sorry, Yang, I didn't mean to worry you. But I am happy, really. Not many 19-year-olds can say that they're independent business owners." Ruby held her arm up jokingly, warranting a more calmed look from Yang.

"Well anyway, I had something else I wanted to talk to you about." Yang advanced the conversation.

"Oh? I'm all ears!" Ruby said, maybe a little too excitedly.

"I've been thinking… about moving out." Yang murmured hesitantly, her blonde locks covering her eyes as she looked to Ruby for approval.

"Moving out?" Ruby was shocked. They weren't… Well, they were both still kids. Yang was only 2 years older than Ruby, and she certainly couldn't see herself moving out anytime in the next two years.

"Who will look after Dad?" Ruby blurted out searching for any excuse to argue against Yang's move.

"Come on Rube, it's been a long time since Dad needed us to look after him…" Yang scratched the back of her neck, a guilty expression spread out across her face.

"Dad's fine now, and I'm not gonna let things that are past stop me living my life." Yang continued.

"Can you even afford to live on your own?" Ruby was desperate.

"Well… I wouldn't actually be living… On my own." Yang's face was plastered with guilt now, a bead of sweat dripping from her forehead.

"What? Like you'd get a room-share? C'mon Yang you don't have to go that far." Ruby laughed nervously.

"No, Ruby. I've been seeing someone, for a while now. I'm sorry, I know I should have told you, I just didn't want to stress you out, because of everything with Mom and school and Dad and the shop, and it just never felt like the right time and -" Ruby was sure Yang kept talking but she tuned it out. School? Had Yang been keeping this a secret for this long? Ruby thought- No, she was sure that they had promised each other that they wouldn't keep secrets from each other.

"And I know, I know, we promised but-"

"Yang, stop talking," Ruby interjected. "How long have you kept this a secret from me?"

Yang was nervous, and hesitant to answer. After a long awkward pause, Yang finally spoke, "Maybe, perhaps, potentially, approximately, about… a year and a half."

Ruby collapsed back into her seat, folding her arms. Yang had been hiding something this big, for eighteen months. Her own sister, eating breakfast with her every day, and withholding such a crucial and important part of her life. Was there that little trust between them?

Ruby sat in silence for the rest of the car journey. Yang tried to speak to her (or at least, she was pretty sure Yang tried to speak to her) but she was in a daze, unable to hear or comprehend whatever words were coming out of her lying, scumbag sister's mouth.

By the time the car pulled up to the house, Ruby had no idea how long the sisters had been sat in silence. Before Yang could say anything, Ruby exited the vehicle and started walking.

When she was sure she was out of sight, she stopped and leaned against a tree to compose herself. She realised that she had been crying, and wiped her eyes. She didn't wear make-up anymore, but her mind still worried for a second about smudging her mascara. Why was she crying? This wasn't a big deal. Her sister had a boyfriend. So what? That's not the end of the world. She was moving out. Who cares? Ruby didn't need her to get by. Why couldn't she stop crying?

She started walking again, still away from the house, this time more calmly, focusing on her breathing and making sure she wasn't crying anymore. She wasn't thinking about Yang or school or Mom, she was keeping her head clear. She was clearing her thoughts.

_But… that girl earlier on was pretty interesting. Damn it, Ruby. Focus. Keep your mind clear. Focus on the trees and don't think about anything else. I wonder how she got that scar?_

She sighed. "Okay well, I guess this is what we're thinking about now. Stupid brain." She spoke to herself.

She kept walking, fixating on the thoughts of Weiss and her appearance and her mannerisms. Ruby didn't know why she was so interested in this girl. Maybe because she was the first real customer in… well. forever. That must be it. Plus, Weiss was close to Ruby's age… probably. Yeah, thinking about it now, Weiss was the closest thing Ruby had to a friend since she dropped out.

"Huh, how sad is that?" Ruby muttered to herself. Looking around, she realised she had walked to the nearby park. That was… a long way. She had walked for a lot longer than she'd realised. Plus, in the middle of winter, armed with only a vest and a coat to warm her core. She sat on a bench pondering what to do. It was getting little late to walk home, it had already been dark when she left Yang. She decided to call for a lift, but that came with an issue of its own. Usually, she'd call Yang, when she needed a lift, but for obvious reasons, she couldn't do that now. She also couldn't call Dad, for the risk that Yang might answer for him. She scrolled through her contacts. Everyone she knew was from high school or college, she hadn't spoken to them in… well, over a year.

"Well, I guess it has to be you." She said, settling on the victim of her pleas and dialling the number.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Four rings.

"Hello?" The dishevelled voice came from the other side of the line.

"Uncle Qrow? Can you come and pick me up? I'm in…" She swallowed. "I'm in Nikos park. I had an argument with Yang and ran off."

"You had an argument? What could you two- Never mind. Are you okay?" Qrow asked, setting aside his immediate query to address the more pressing matter.

Ruby stuttered and began to well up, thinking back to the events of the day. "N-Not really."

"I'll be there in 5." Qrow didn't hesitate, as Ruby knew he wouldn't.

"Thank you." The line cut off. This was why Ruby didn't like asking Qrow for things, he always said yes, no matter what it was. It was fun at first, but it quickly started to feel like she was taking advantage of him. She knew she could ask him for anything, but it made her not want to. He was the "cool uncle", but maybe a little too cool. Of course, Yang never hesitated to borrow money from him, even though she always paid it back, or hitch lifts from him, until she got a car herself. Yang even had him buy alcohol for her and her friends. Ruby had Yang for that, though she never took advantage of it. Ruby was never a huge drinker, and just as she was at the age where she would have been drinking with her friends and partying, the accident happened.

Qrow pulled up in front of Ruby, his black car blending into the darkness cleanly. He rolled the passenger window down in front of Ruby.

"Hop in Kiddo," his gravelly voice came from inside of the car. Ruby opened the door and clambered into the passenger seat. Qrow started the car and sat in silence within the motion

"So… care to tell me what happened?" He finally said after a minute.

"Well… Yang is seeing someone." Ruby replied nervously, only realising after the fact how ridiculous it sounds to say it aloud.

"Is that such a big deal? It's not like she's moving to Vacuo." Qrow responded calmly.

"She kept it from me for a year and a half, she only told me today," Ruby responded, breathing slowly to stop herself crying again.

"A year and a half? That's rough. It's not like the two of you haven't been through worse? Is this really so bad?"

"I just can stop thinking about it. Every time we ate breakfast together for the last eighteen months, every time she picked me up from work, every time I asked her how her day was, she lied to me. And now she's moving out. Just leaving me behind like everything is fine when it's not." Ruby said exasperated, almost shouting at this point.

"I see. So you want to not talk to her forever?"

"No!" Ruby snapped quickly. "...I just need to clear my head before I do speak to her." Ruby was beginning to calm down and saw that Qrow was already taking the route to his house without her asking.

The car pulled up to Qrows place. It was near the high school Ruby had attended, where Qrow was a teacher. Ruby stepped out of the car and looked up at the house, the full moon just visible behind the chimney spire. It was a clear night and Ruby had a good view of the stars.

"You coming?" Qrow spoke over his shoulder as he spun his keys around his finger.

Ruby nodded and followed him, stopping to let him unlock the door before stepping into his house ahead of him. Qrow, and consequently Ruby's high school, was just a few streets down from the Xiao-Long residence, so Ruby was within walking distance of home, which put her uncomfortably close to the very sister she was trying to escape. But, this was fine, and she was grateful to Qrow for letting her hang here while she cleared her head.

"Want some hot cocoa?" Qrow knew exactly how to cheer her up. And here she had planned on moping for at least 10 more minutes. Alas, Ruby couldn't help smiling at chocolate, and grinned widely, nodding at the offer. She went and sat on Qrow's couch, waiting patiently for her drink.

"Cream?" Her uncle shouted from the other room.

"Yes please!" Ruby responded, leaning over the arm of the sofa to see if she could see her uncle in the kitchen. She found that she could see some of the kitchen, but not the part in which Qrow was currently operating.

After a couple of minutes, Qrow brought through Ruby's cocoa, topped with a mountain of cream and placed it in front of her.

"Jeez Uncle Qrow, I asked for cocoa with cream, not cream with cocoa?" Ruby grinned proudly at her unfunny joke.

"Good to know you can still crack a smile." Qrow sat beside her and flicked the TV on. He put the movie channels on and selected one at random, resulting in he and Ruby watching a cheesy action fantasy adventure film. The two sat in tranquil silence, not because they had nothing to say, but because nothing needed to be said. By the end of the film, Ruby was sound asleep on the couch, and Qrow comically crept around, cleaning her cocoa mug and putting a thick blanket over her, ensuring the heating was set on before going to bed himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby snapped awake, her strange dream ending somewhat abruptly. She sat up and looked around the room to see she was alone. She shifted to sit up, and looked to her right, seeing a fresh set of her clothes on the coffee table, and a note on top of them. She picked up the note and opened it. 

Take as long as you need. -Dad

She cracked a smile before standing to fold her blanket. She figured Qrow must still be asleep, as it must be early for her alarm to not have gone off yet. She pulled out her phone to check, before realising it was dead, and groggily traipsing into the kitchen to check the clock she knew was next to the fridge. 

"And I'm late. Great." Ruby spoke aloud to herself. Qrow must be at work already. No point rushing herself now, late was late, and she didn't want to look dishevelled when she went to see Mom. 

She went upstairs to shower, grabbing her clothes as she passed and leaving her phone on the table as she passed, she couldn't charge it now anyway. 

"Maybe Dad should've left my charger and sketchpad instead of clothes." She mused to herself. Her thoughts drifted back to the dream she had had, but she decided not to dwell on it, instead resolving to tell Mom when she saw her. 

She opened the bathroom door and stepped in, taking a second to look in the mirror. She had crust in her eyes from sleep, and visible dark patches under her eyes from lack thereof. Her lips were chapped from the cold air last night, and dark brown hair was a mess from lack of a proper place to sleep, the dye having long since grown out from the look she kept up for college, leaving only the frayed split ends red. In summary, she looked homeless, a look she would absolutely not present to her mother, lest she worry her heart out. 

She turned to the shower, and turned it on, taking her clothes off and stepping in. The scalding hot water providing relief from the winter air which crept into the house, which Qrow couldn't leave heated in his absence for fear of gas leaks. 

Ruby thought about Weiss again, this time about how she would approach the massive order she had been commissioned for. She supposed it was probably best to get the smaller baskets out of the way, as they would definitely be the most tedious. She drafted out which flowers she would include in which bouquets on the steamy window, committing the condensed calligraphy to memory before stepping out of the shower feeling cleaned and refreshed. 

And of course, you forgot to grab a towel Ruby, good job.

She awkwardly made her way through the upstairs to locate the boiler cupboard at the end of the hall and grab herself a towel, taking a red one and covering her body quickly. Supposing that the best place to change was probably the guest bedroom, she grabbed her clothes out of the bathroom and made her way into the room. 

"You'd think that a late person would be in more of a rush." She muttered to the mirror in the bedroom, before grinning at herself, her mood today extraordinarily higher than yesterday. She brushed her hair and applied chapstick before walking downstairs and grabbing her jacket to put it on. She grabbed her phone and one of Qrow's many scarves, a white one, figuring he wouldn't mind her borrowing it. As she was about to step out of the door, the thought occurred that maybe she should leave Qrow a note to thank him for last night (and his scarf).

Gone to work. Thanks for last night. Also, I borrowed your scarf, hope you don't mind. Love ya, Ruby. 

With that, she stepped out the door and into the cold winter air, making her way down the street in the direction of her house. It wasn't her final destination, but she had to walk past it to see Mom. After about five minutes of walking, she reached her house and saw Yang's car wasn't parked outside. She took a second to be annoyed before speeding up so her dad didn't see her walking past. 

She reached the turnoff from her road into the forest and walked in, hiking through the snow that had stuck to the forest floor from the last few days. The snow didn't stick anywhere else, but it felt like the forest was always snowy. She made her way through the scenery, admiring the height of the trees and the magic of the snow as she did. Usually, she listened to music on this walk, but couldn't today for obvious reasons.

Eventually, she came to a large clearing, which contained one off-centre tree, marking the near end of her journey. She veered right to the cliffside and followed it to the point where even the cliff turned back and nothing but the ocean could be seen for miles. On the corner of the cliff sat her mother's grave, overlooking the ocean towards Atlas as she'd always wanted. This spot was her mother's favourite when she was a child, and she would often bring Ruby and Yang here after work. 

"Hey, Mom," Ruby said to the grave, expecting no response, and having her expectations once again met. She sighed. 

"Sorry I didn't come last night… Some stuff happened. And sorry I was late! It's... also because of the stuff... But don't worry about that! I don't want to bore you with the sad stuff." Ruby shook her hands at her mother. 

"I had this really interesting dream last night. I slept on Uncle Qrow's couch, even though he has a spare bedroom." She chuckled.

"You were there, and so was Jaune, and this girl I met yesterday at work, Weiss. We were all eating together here looking over the ocean, having a picnic. I don't know why it was Jaune and Weiss, but it was nice… I miss you." Ruby spoke softly, imagining her mother's response.

"Well, Weiss isn't exactly a friend, as much as a client, but she was really interesting to talk to! And she has this scar over her eye which I bet most people wouldn't notice-" She continued to tell her mother about the girl, and the circumstances of their meeting, and the task she had undertaken, eventually running out of things to say about Weiss and being forced to move on. 

"Another thing that happened yesterday is… well, I'm pretty torn up about it, I don't really know what to do." And she told her mother all about her situation with Yang, seeking comfort she would never receive, but content just to tell her mother about it. 

"So, yeah, I had a really eventful past 2 days. Pretty crazy huh, usually we just stand around in silence until I go, but I guess I really had a lot to say today." She chuckled. 

"I should get going though, it was nice speaking to you, Mom. I'm going to work today so I'll give it my all again today just like I promised." She held her arm determined, before turning and walking back into the forest to make her way to work. 

She cut through the forest to get into town, a slightly longer route than the one she had walked to get there, but since she wasn't getting a lift from Yang today, it was definitely the quickest way to the flower shop. 

She came out in the park Qrow had picked her up from the night before, barely resisting temptation as she passed the bakery on the way. She made her way through the small town; Patch was nice this time of year, but considering she had been late before she paid Mom an extended visit and then walked to work, she certainly didn't have time to take it in. She almost missed the note stuck to the front door of the shop in her fumbling to unlock it as quickly as possible. She stepped into the store before realising that the door didn't quite look the same as it always did, double-taking and stepping back to check the note on the door.

I left my scarf here yesterday when I placed my order. I tried calling but nobody answered. Here's my number, please contact me when you see this. -Weiss Schnee

A phone number was written underneath. 

Ruby took the piece of paper and sat down, not taking her eyes off of the 7 digit code on the page the whole time. Ruby just had to text Weiss and she would come and collect her scarf. Nice and easy. All she had to do was text her. Or should she call her? Maybe it was best to call, after all, a text would have to be from her personal phone, and that would look unprofessional. But then, if she had constant communication with Weiss, it would be easy to keep her updated on the progress of her order, which would be very professional indeed. But Ruby was asked to contact Weiss when she got the note, and waiting until she had charged her phone would mean not doing so, so she should just call her off of the work phone and be done with it. It was decided. She would call Weiss and have her come and collect her scarf. She would just call her now. 

Call.

Her.

Now.

Why was she so nervous? She just had to call the girl and tell her to come and get her scarf. It wasn't like she was asking the girl to marry her. She flushed bright red at the thought.

"It's just a figure of speech." She said out loud. 

She picked up the phone. Step One: complete. She dialled the number. Step Two: complete. Going well so far. Why was she so nervous? This was just a customer. Just a random girl who happened to want to buy flowers. She did want to buy flowers. And a multi-thousand Lien flower order was probably more important than a scarf, right? So she should keep the number and text Weiss when she charged her phone, that way she could give her regular updates on the flowers. 

Yes. That's definitely the best plan. She stared at the piece of paper for a minute more before setting it down on the desk and beginning planning for the bouquets, referring to her mental image of the shower window. 

She drafted out everything she would need to order, estimating how long it would take to craft the baskets and the accessories, and thus the approximate date she would have to go and collect the flowers, pushing it as close to the deadline as possible to keep the flowers as fresh as possible, while still giving her time to dutifully craft them into the baskets. She decided on the flowers to go in each basket, counting out the amounts of each material and flower, ensuring to double the numbers to craft two of each basket, like Weiss had requested.

She took the information and pooled it into a checklist, making sure to order and date each thing she needed to do, setting herself a collection of smaller deadlines to keep progress steady. She pinned the pages up onto the notice board she kept behind the register. She made sure it was visible before moving onto the first item on the agenda, buying the materials for the baskets. There was a crafts shop in town which she doubted would have the materials she needed, but she decided she would check it first before ordering online anyway.

She stood up and reached to the coat hook where she kept her coat before realising she forgot to take it off, placing her phone on the charging pad that she had had the good sense to leave at the shop. She chuckled to herself and grabbed the keys to the shop off of her desk, even for short trips like this she couldn't leave the shop unattended and unlocked. Ruby decided to straighten up the shop before leaving, standing all the flowers upright in their vases and making sure the photos on the wall weren't tilted, especially the one of her mother. Before she was finished, the door opened, ringing the bell, but not prompting Ruby to turn to the customer.

"Sorry, I was actually just about to close. Just for a bit though, do you think you could come back in 15 minutes?" Ruby said without looking behind her. 

"Is that how you greet an old friend?" A familiar voice came from behind her. She turned to see a tall, blonde-haired man wearing a hoodie with a cartoon rabbit face standing in the entrance to her shop.

"Jaune! You… cut your hair?" Ruby stared at the mans now short hair, unsure of what to make of it. 

"Pretty sure that's not how you're supposed to greet an old friend either." Jaune retorted. "How've you been? I haven't seen you since… well… I haven't seen you in forever."

"I've been… good. Just working in the shop and that's all really. It's nice, I never liked school anyway, you know." Ruby laughed nervously. 

"Yeah…" Jaune looked around the shop. He knew it well, he had visited it a lot as a child, having known Ruby since before they started High School. 

"This place hasn't changed a single bit" He spoke quietly. "You never think about doing it up? Giving it a bit of flair?"

"Nope, I wouldn't change a thing about this place. Too many good memories. And bad ones. I like it how it is." Ruby rocked back and forth on her feet, observing Jaune as he scoped around the familiar surroundings. 

"So what made you pop in today?" Ruby asked.

"Well, I was in the area, thought I'd see if you wanted to grab lunch and catch up?" Jaune replied with a question. 

"Uhh…Yeah sure, I didn't have any plans right now anyway." Ruby thought back to her commitment to Weiss' order. but decided an hour with Jaune couldn't hurt. 

"You buying?" Ruby grinned as she made her way towards the door. 

"Do I have a choice?" Jaune sighed happily as they made their way out of the door, Ruby locking it behind them. 

"Nope." Ruby skipped down the road slightly ahead of Jaune, towards the bakery they had eaten at together for as long as they could remember.


	4. Chapter 4

"I see you haven't lost your appetite…" Jaune said as he watched Ruby wolf down an entire cake. 

"Only when you're buying." Ruby winked, speaking through a mouth full of cake.

"Speaking with your mouth full is frowned upon, you know." Jaune grinned at Ruby. Ruby swallowed the mouthful of cake she was currently harbouring. 

"I see a year apart hasn't made you any less of a sarcastic ass?" Ruby retorted.

"Well, my mom always said, never change for anyone." Jaune smiled in faux pride at the brunette, having long since finished his own portion of cake. 

"So how're things with the shop?" Jaune moved the conversation along. 

"Oh, good actually! I'm running an order for the Schnees at the moment!" Ruby exclaimed, perhaps a little loudly for the confines of the small bakery. She shrugged off the funny looks she got from the people sitting around them. 

"The Schnees?!" Jaune couldn't hide his shock. "As in, the richest family from Vale to Vacuo?"

"Yup. A girl called Weiss came in and placed the order. It's pretty huge, I've got my work cut out for me." Ruby smiled and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Wait… Weiss Schnee came to your shop to order flowers?" Jaune was dumbfounded at how nonchalant Ruby was being. 

"Yeah, what's special about that?" Ruby visibly showed confusion at why Jaune picked that detail to fixate on. 

"She's like… Hang on." Jaune pulled out his phone and started typing frantically, presenting the bright screen to Ruby, a little too close to her face. Ruby pushed his hand back slightly. 

"She's the heiress to the whole Schnee empire. The company, the properties. All of it!" Jaune explained. 

"Heiress?" Ruby snorted. "People don't… That's not a thing." She laughed, snatching the phone from Jaune's hand, and reading the screen intently. 

She looked up and placed the phone on the table, a surprised look plastering her face. 

"That's totally a thing isn't it?" She didn't expect an answer. Jaune picked up the phone and pressed the screen a few more times before sliding it back across the table. 

"This is the girl who ordered your flowers?" He asked, gesturing towards the image on the screen. It was Weiss, alright. She was wearing a straw sun hat, and a plain white sundress, the image having been taken from her left made the scar over her eye clearly visible. 

“...Yeah,” Ruby found it slightly unsettling how quickly Jaune had managed to find an image of the white-haired girl.

“Wait, how do you know this?” Ruby asked, feeling anger welling up in the pit of her stomach for a reason she couldn’t identify.

“The Schnees have been in the news lately, one of the daughters is marrying some big-name military general. I don’t think it’s Weiss, though. Their dad is apparently furious about it, he did a whole speech about how he was against the marriage.” Jaune spoke at Ruby, rather than to her. 

“I’m doing the flowers for the wedding…” Ruby told him bluntly. 

“Wait, that’s why they were in your shop?” Jaune growing more and more shocked by the minute. “That’s a huge event! You could get some crazy publicity.”

“I suppose. I don’t really care, though,” Ruby said with some finality, signalling to Jaune that she wanted to move on to other topics of conversation.

“Okay… I just can’t believe you’re involved in something like that,” Jaune finished with that. “Anyways, what else have you been up to?”

“Nothing much. Just visiting Mom and work really. What about you?” Ruby replied.

“Well, second year just finished, so I’ve got a lot of free time. I’ve been looking into doing some sports.” Jaune knew what to expect from that statement, but still managed an offended look when it elicited a loud laugh from Ruby.

“You? Sports?” She chortled. 

“What’s so funny about that?” Jaune responded, his faux offence still presiding.

“You are literally, like, the only person I know who actually passed the entrance exam for Beacon, Jaune. You’re not exactly the… sporty type.” Ruby mused, trying her hardest not to be too mean to her oldest friend. 

“I used to go running with Pyrrha!” Jaune spoke without thinking, immediately turning Ruby’s expression infallibly sad. 

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have brought her up…” Jaune said softly. 

“It’s fine, it just… Still feels weird hearing her name.” Ruby leaned forward, looking down and placing her elbows on her thighs and closing her hands together in a tight grip. 

“I know… Sorry.” Jaune said again. 

“Stop apologising,” Ruby looked up despondent. “You lost more than I did.” She trailed off.

“No, Ruby. I didn’t. We all lost something that day.” Jaune responded adamantly. Ruby remained silent.

“Ruby… It wasn’t your fault. It’s okay to grieve for them.” Jaune spoke softly again. Ruby just sighed.

“Let’s talk about something else.” She said after a moment of awkward silence. She sat up, leaning her back against the chair once more and picking at the cake that had seemed so inviting a moment ago.

“Like what?” Jaune obliged her.

“Well… What else have you been up to lately?” Ruby tried to sound cheerful, to bring the mood back up as much as she could. 

“Well, I’ve actually… been seeing someone lately.” Jaune replied nervously, unsure of how Ruby would take it. 

“You too huh?” She muttered. 

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m glad to see you’re moving on.” Ruby gave Jaune a genuine smile, but he could see the sadness behind it. 

“So… Tell me about her. What’s she like? How long have you known each other?” Ruby pried. 

“She’s pretty great. She can seem a bit cold on the outside, but hen you get to know her, she’s one of the most genuinely caring people around. She’s pretty too, like beautiful.” Jaune’s expression suddenly changed; the boy was obviously smitten. “We’ve known each other a while, actually. Since before you left Beacon.”  
“Okay, loverboy.” Ruby chuckled before pausing. “Wait, before I left? Do I know her? What’s her name?” Ruby was both excited and nervous.

“Well, yeah you kind of do know her…” Jaune was very clearly reluctant to divulge any more information. 

“Jaune… Who is it?” Ruby turned on her stern face. Jaune realised his defences were slowly being broken down. Ruby could really pull off the angry mom look when she needed to.

“Its Cinder Fall!” Jaune blurted out, watching as Ruby’s face morphed into one of disgust. 

“Cinder Fall?!” Jaune, that woman is a colossal bitch! I literally fought her at the last track meet because she was picking on…” Ruby didn’t finish the sentence.

“No, I know, but I promise, she’s totally different once you get to know her. And she really regrets the way she was to… You-Know-Who in the past! She’s really nice! I’d love for you to meet her on better terms?” Jane spoke frantically and desperately, clearly trying his hardest to fight his side to Ruby.

“...Yeah, I don’t think so.” Ruby was very clearly unenthused. “Look, Jaune, you can see who you want, and I really don’t have a right to be pissed at you, but please keep me out of it. Hat woman is, like, my mortal enemy.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want,” Jaune said, disappointed. His phone buzzed on the table and he checked it, before widening his eyes at the realisation that-

“I’m late! Sorry, Ruby, I’m gonna have to cut this short.” He stood and grabbed his jacket before turning towards the door. 

“Think you could pay the bill and I’ll put it in your scroll later tonight?” He turned back towards Ruby to see a dissatisfied nod, placing his hands together as though in prayer, “Thank you! I love you forever!” He said as he turned and practically ran towards the door. 

Ruby stood and made her way over to the counter, seeing the girl behind the counter visibly lapse at Ruby’s deathly expression, directed at the now not present Jaune. She tapped her scroll card on the cash register, hearing a familiar ding to notify her that the payment had gone through. She turned and grabbed her coat and scarf off of the seat she had been sat on, donning them before making her way out of the door.

She walked the short walk from the bakery to the flower shop for the second time that day, feeling none of the satisfaction of just having eaten a full cake. She reflected on the reunion with Jaune, growing increasingly dissatisfied as the thought over the interaction with her best friend. 

She unlocked the door to the flower shop, removed her coat and scarf, and sat down at her messy desk, thinking back to how much happier she had been when she entered the shop for the first time earlier that day, however shortlived that may have been, no thanks to Weiss. That’s right, she needed to text Weiss, her phone should be charged by now. She turned and grabbed her phone from the charging pad, opening the messaging app and pressing “New Message”. She scanned the desk for the piece of paper containing the number but could see it anywhere.

Panicking, ruby frantically searched through the mountain of papers to locate the slip of paper which had Weiss’ phone number. She couldn’t find the piece of paper which had Weiss’ phone number. She had lost Weiss’ phone number.

“Damn it, Ruby. You had to choose this client to let down didn’t you?!” Ruby scolded herself, checking each individual piece of paper, and placing it in the location it belonged in (which ended up being the recycling for most of them). Ten minutes later Ruby had a clean desk and no phone number of Weiss’. She sighed solemnly before slumping back in her chair. 

“And I didn’t even grab the materials for the baskets,” She said, lightly punching her leg. This day was really all downhill, wasn’t it? 

She sighed to herself and led her head back onto nothing, closing her eyes and breathing slowly to calm herself down. It really wasn’t as bad as she thought, she had only lost Weiss’ personal number, it didn’t have any real impact on her business. Weiss had still paid for the bouquets, and Ruby was still going to make them, just not quite right now. For now, she needed to relax. 

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re sleeping instead of preparing my sisters flowers.” An angry voice came from in front of Ruby, prompting her to open her eyes and see the scarred Schnee girl stood in front of her.

“I’m sure this leaves a great impression on the other customers.” Weiss had her hands on her sides and was leaning forward slightly, clueing Ruby in that Weiss’ anger was mostly sass, with a light side serving of pure, unfettered rage. 

“Ahh, hi Weiss,” Ruby said through a stifled yawn. 

“Care to explain to me why I don’t see even the beginnings of the bouquets?” Weiss asked.

“That’s not true!” Ruby exclaimed, looking around the room and pointing at the notice board. “I did the plan…” She continued sheepishly. 

“Unbelievable.”


	5. Chapter 5

"You haven't done anything!? You idiot! You absolute dolt! I've already paid you! You're on my time and my money right now, and you're using it to sleep! I cannot believe you!" Weiss was almost shouting. 

Ruby was receding very slowly into a fetal position in her chair, slowly shrinking before the unsympathetic Schnee's eyes. Weiss continued her barrage with more of the same insults, growing less and less angry as she vented her frustrations at Ruby before finally relaxing her shoulders, unable to shout any more at an unarmed, unresponsive Ruby. Weiss folded her arms. 

"I left my number, but you were clearly too busy sleeping to use it. I came to collect my scarf." She turned her head upwards in indignance. 

"Sorry, I kinda lost your number in amongst the clutter of my desk." Ruby gestured to the now bare table in front of it. Weiss thought back to the clutter of her last visit, and turned away to hide her blush at the fact that Ruby cleaned the desk after she lost Weiss' number on it. 

"You lost it?!" Weiss straightened herself, readjusting her posture to the standards of a Schnee. 

"I can't believe the unprofessionalism. This just won't do. How can I employ someone and not have that person reporting to me on their progress." Weiss pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen from her bag, a different bag to last time, but one of equal quality nonetheless. She scribbled down her number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ruby. 

"And don't lose this one." Ruby took the piece of paper and immediately pulled out her phone, inputting the number and typing something. Weiss' phone buzzed a moment later, and she pulled it out to see a text from Ruby. 

My boss is giving me a tough time. Think you could come over and deal with her :( -Ruby

Weiss stifled a laugh and opened her mouth to speak, before closing it and typing something herself. 

Well maybe if you didn't always sleep on the job, she wouldn't need to be on your back all the time.

"Hey it was this one time!" Ruby exclaimed aloud, meeting Weiss' downward gaze with a pout, and the girls maintained eye contact for a second before simultaneously bursting out laughing. 

"No! It's not funny. Stop laughing!" Weiss barely managed to wheeze between fits of laughter, the two girls overreacting to a mostly non-comic situation. 

After a few minutes of on-off laughter, both girls got themselves under control, Weiss blushing at the display she had just shown to a woman who was, realistically, a complete and total stranger. 

"Thanks," Ruby said half-seriously. Weiss looked at her confused. 

"For what?" Weiss voiced her confusion. 

"I haven't laughed like that in a while. I guess I needed that." Ruby said wiping a tear from her eye, a byproduct of the breathlessness of spending 2 uninterrupted minutes laughing your heart out. 

"Well, I wasn't laughing with you anyway! I'm still mad at you." Weiss said, returning to her huff. 

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'm a super fast worker anyway." Ruby lifted her arm into a faux-swan-flex, prompting a snort from Weiss, followed by Weiss covering her mouth, embarrassed, and Ruby bursting out laughing once again. 

"You have a really cute laugh," Ruby said, still sitting at her desk, the compliment was not intended to be taken any further than its face value, but Weiss blushed violently, the new shade of her previously pale skin, unnoticed by Ruby who was looking down at a sketch she was currently doing for the baskets, labelling each section and flower as she drew them. 

"You're… a really good artist." Weiss observed. 

"Thanks," Ruby shrugged off the compliment, too focused on her work to realise how focused Weiss also was on her work. After a minute or so of silence, Ruby lifted up the paper and handed it to Weiss.

"There. How's that?" Ruby exclaimed in her bubbly customer-greeting voice. 

"Oh. It's really good." Weiss stated calmly. 

"And now I've done some work! You can't complain anymore," Ruby joked. Weiss chuckled lightly.

"You did tell me you were a fast worker. I'll believe you for now." Weiss folded up Ruby's drawing and put it in her pocket. 

"Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking my scarf and being on my way?" Weiss questioned, but turned to collect her scarf before Ruby could answer. 

"Yes, boss!" Ruby announced as she stood out of her chair and saluted comically, earning another chuckle from Weiss. Weiss stepped out of the door and only then did Ruby realise that it was dark outside. The door closed behind Weiss.

She has a really cute laugh.

"God damnit!" Ruby heard a shriek from outside and ran outside to see Weiss stood on the sidewalk looking back at her. 

"I expressly told him to wait! The damn chauffeur drove off!" Weiss announced angrily. She stormed past Ruby back into Red Like Roses, Ruby trailing behind her. 

"Want me to call you a cab?" Ruby asked. 

"No!" Weiss snapped. 

"I mean… No, thank you. I can do it myself." Weiss spoke more calmly, pulling her phone out of her bag and looking at the screen. She put the phone back in her bag. 

"... Can you call me a cab please?" Weiss asked sheepishly. 

"Phone dead?" Ruby mused.

"...Yes. Dead as a doornail." Weiss responded. 

"Have no fear! Ruby is here!" Ruby pulled out her phone and looked at the screen before putting it back in her pocket. 

"... Let's use the work phone." Ruby said sheepishly. 

"Wow. You know any cab company numbers?" Weiss rolled her eyes at the irony of the situation. 

"Just the one." Ruby answered, dialling the number and pressing the call button. 

One ring. 

Two rings.

"Patch taxi service is currently fully booked. We are sorry for any inconvenience, please try again later."

"I… don't believe it. I'm stuck in this dingy town! How am I supposed to get home now?" Weiss shouted. 

"How far do you live from here?" Ruby tried to distract Weiss from the situation. 

"It's nearly an hour driving." Weiss was very clearly frustrated in her response. 

"Oh, damn. Wait, an hour? Why are you ordering flowers an hour away from where you live?" Ruby exclaimed. 

"It's near to the venue." Weiss responded simply, racking her brain to figure out a solution to her current predicament. 

"I might have a solution, but we'll have to wait a while." Ruby responded hesitantly.

"Well it can't get any worse at this point. What is it?"

"My uncle finishes work in an hour, I can get him to take you home. He was going to pick me up lfrom work anyway." 

"An hour?! I'm going to have that damn chauffeur's job."

"Want to get something to eat while we wait? I know a nice café."

"... Fine. I've nothing better to do anyway."

Ruby grabbed her coat, scarf and, on an impulse, her sketchbook too and made her way out of the door, letting Weiss pass her to leave first, locking the door behind them as she left. The two made their way down the busy, well lit street, in the direction the park that Ruby had walked through earlier that day. 

"Well, now we know why the cab service was fully booked. Vytal festival." Weiss stated. 

"Shit! That's now?" Ruby exclaimed. 

"Potty mouth much?" Weiss responded. 

"Oh, sorry princess, my mom raised me with a full vocabulary, curses and all." Ruby said proudly. Weiss chuckled.

"So, where's this café?" Weiss was shivering in the cold, her blue cardigan doing little in the way of protecting her from the cold. 

"It's right around the corner" Ruby said, draping her scarf over Weiss.

When did I take my scarf off? 

The two girls reached the café and stepped in, embracing the warm air as they were met with blasts of warm coffee smell. Ruby led Weiss over to her usual seat by the window, and removed her coat, draping it over the back of her seat. Weiss removed the scarves and was about to make her way over to the counter.

"What do you want?" Ruby said to Weiss, catching her by surprise. 

"Don't you want me to…?" Weiss asked, unsure of why Ruby would be offering her anything. 

"Nah, my treat." Ruby winked. "What's your poison, Miss Schnee?"

"Uhhh…" Weiss was caught off guard by the lack of expectation from the Brunette. "A Long Macchiato please."

"Want a muffin or anything?"

"No, thank you?" 

"Long Macchiato coming right up!" Ruby bounced over to the counter, placing the order and standing for a minute as she watched it being prepared. After tapping her scroll card on the machine, she was handed a tray with two tall coffee mugs and a muffin on it. She made her way back over to the table being careful not to spill the drinks as she went. She placed the tray on the table, angling it so Weiss' drink was closest to her. 

"... Thank you." Weiss said cupping the warm mug between both of her hands. She glanced out the window to her right, watching the lights as the people passed by, travelling to the nearby park for this town's branch of the country-wide festival that occured every year in celebration of the end of the great war, just over 80 years ago. It was a week-long event, and today was the first day. 

Ruby was intently watching Weiss, observing the shape of the white-haired beauty's chin, and the line of her jaw as it passed up to her hairline. She pulled out her sketchbook and started roughly sketching the girl in front of her, ensuring to pay special detail to the entrancing scar hovering over her left eye. At some point, Weiss looked away from the window, turning her attention to the sketch that Ruby was engrossed in. 

"You're quite the artist huh?" She eventually commented after observing Ruby for a satisfactory length of time.

"I guess," Ruby chuckled. "I don't know, it's just a hobby I suppose."

"You ever consider studying it?" Weiss asked innocently. 

"Yeah… I did once." Ruby responded softly, doing her best to keep hold of the cheery mood Weiss had put her in. Thankfully, Weiss took the hint and didn't pry any further. 

"Well hey, your uncle should be here soon right?" Weiss nodded towards the clock which hung on the wall behind Ruby, which Ruby turned to look at. Weiss took the chance to snatch the sketch pad and get a closer look at the drawing. The sketch pad was well worn; you could tell from feeling the pages that it had been used a lot. 

"Yeah he- Hey!" Ruby turned as soon as she sensed Weiss' movement, but was too late to stop her grabbing the sketch pad. "Give that back!" Ruby reached across the table to grab the book from the girls hands. 

"I'm just taking a look," Weiss held the book away from Ruby so she couldn't reach. She admired the piece and the attention to detail Ruby had put into it, from her snowflake earings to the hemming that peaked out above her cardigan. It was very well-drawn. 

"Do you mind if I take a look at some of your other drawings?" Weiss asked politely, and Ruby slumped back into her seat. 

it"Go ahead." Ruby agreed, but seemed to do so begrudgingly. 

Weiss flicked through the sketch pad, seeing lots of sketches of various scenarios, one of a sprinter crossing the finish line with her arms in the air. Another facial portrait of a freckled girl. One coloured piece of a blonde girl on a yellow and black motorbike, a beautiful landscape of the ocean with a slender woman facing away. 

"Ruby, these are amazing." Weiss said with her jaw hanging. She handed the book back to Ruby. "I can't believe you're so talented!" 

"Thanks." Ruby said, "I practiced drawing a lot as a kid. I would always hang out in the flower shop with my Mom, and I never had anything else to do." Ruby smiled at the fond memory. 

"Say, isn't your uncle going to be waiting for us outside of the shop?" Weiss said, looking at the clock. 

"Shit! You're right! Let's head back?"

The two girls made their way back to the shop in silence, finding a disgruntled Qrow waiting for them, and stepping in his car to demand a lift for Weiss.


	6. Chapter 6

Ruby stared at her phone screen, unsure of what to type. She should keep it professional, right? But the message she had received was by no means professional. In fact it seemed… platonic. Friendly, even. 

She mulled it over in her head, rereading the message which had sent her into turmoil.

_Please tell your uncle he has my gratitude for taking me home last night._

On the one hand, it seemed like the sort of thing one might say in passing; Weiss probably didn't send it with much forethought, instead just being polite. On the other hand, Weiss didn't have to send that message, especially not after the awkward silence of the car journey, so it must be a friendly gesture. Plus, if she wanted to be polite, she'd start by apologising for her attitude towards Ruby when they met yesterday. 

If it was friendly then she should definitely reply. Something witty would be best, but that was more Yang's forte than Ruby's. Something overly endearing would seem weird. Ruby looked back at the page on her sketchbook, the sketch of Weiss she had done in the café yesterday. She looked so calm in that photo. Calm but also mysterious. Like she had something on her mind as she glanced out the window. A stark contrast to the angry face she had been greeted with after her nap. 

Thinking back to their initial meeting yesterday, Ruby decided it would be best to hold off on replying to Weiss, at least until she had gotten some work done. She closed her sketchbook and set it aside, looking down at the papers in front of her, the order slip for the flowers she needed for Weiss' bouquets. Ordinarily, she liked to grow the flowers herself, but for obscure orders like this, she could only do that with months notice. She did have a personal sanctuary, in which she grew her own flowers, which she used to keep the shop stocked, and to make the orders for the more common flowers. 

Some of the Schnee's flowers definitely required an outside touch, a touch which thankfully she had a source for. A local flower nursery, only a couple of hours drive away. They had a website but it was horrible to navigate; Ruby preferred to fill the order herself, and show up in person. Of course, the issue with that on this occasion was that she needed Yang to drive her to travel that distance. This order was perhaps a little too large to fit in Yang's car. She would need to hire a van. Thankfully, she knew a guy for that too. 

She opened her phone and flicked through the contacts, settling on the man in question and dialling the number.

One ring. 

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dad."

"Ruby! Hi. Sorry just one second!" Ruby heard the sound of scrambling, the middle-aged man clearly stopping whatever he was doing to clear the path to speak to his daughter. 

"Okay, I'm good." He chuckled. "How's it going? Qrow feeding you alright?!"

"Yeah, Dad, Uncle Qrow is feeding me just fine. I've only been gone a day, you know?" Ruby mused. 

"Two nights! Don't give me that! It breaks a man's heart being away from his daughter that long!" Taiyang exclaimed. Ruby chuckled. "I worry about you. Anyway, what's up? What brings you to this humble merchant on this fine day?"

"Well I may need to hire a van sometime this week, but I'll also need you to drive it if you can. Any days when you're free?" Ruby turned her business voice on.

"Honey it's in the name. We're free All Our Days." Taiyang laughed at his own joke. "What day and time is best for you? I'll make it happen." 

"Well my deadline is Thursday, I want the flowers to be fresh when I give them over, so… Wednesday at 12pm?" Ruby asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Sounds great! Anything else?" Taiyang was certainly a charismatic individual, something Ruby had tried to emulate to the best of her ability. She scribbled down the details of the call on a scrap piece of paper in front of her. 

"Yes. I need to deliver the flowers on Thursday, so if I could hire the van and the driver again at, let's say… 6am?" Ruby was in full business mode, no heed paid to the fact that the man she was talking to was her father. 

"Well it would be cheaper to hire the van overnight, and if you just let me know when you need me driving it, I'll be there."

"Okay, and this will be on the usual rate?" Ruby stopped her scribbling for a moment. 

"For you, half price." He was audibly grinning. "You couldn't see that but I winked." Ruby rolled her eyes. 

"Okay, great. Thanks, Dad." Ruby began fading out of her business facade. 

"No problem, Rube. Everything all good in the shop?" Taiyang was making small talk, clearly just enjoying hearing his daughter's voice for the first time in 2 days.

"Yeah, just a big order I have to take care of." Ruby sighed. 

"Ahh I feel that. Tiresome client?" The father understood the world that Ruby belonged to, himself owning a small business. 

"Actually, no, not this time." Ruby thought back to Weiss shouting at her, but found herself unable to regard the white-haired girl badly. "She's… interesting."

"Oh? What's she like?" He asked, genuinely curious. 

"Well, she's… preppy, and posh, and a little bit stuck up, but she's got a great sense of humour, and she's easy to talk to." Ruby voiced the thoughts she would never say to Weiss, looking up as she did.

"Sounds like you've finally made yourself a friend." Ruby blushed. 

"No! She's just a client. I'm sure we'll never see each other again once the order is dealt with." Ruby spoke softly, not liking the sound of what she was saying. 

"Why not? I've made friends with plenty of clients! Remember Port?" The man seemed a little too encouraging. 

"He doesn't count! You already knew of him because he teaches with Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, laughing lightly to herself as she did. 

"Look, Dad, I have to get back to working, it was nice talking to you okay?" Ruby said sympathetically, feeling bad for her father, but wanting to end the conversation. 

"Okay, kid. Take it easy alright? Love ya." He always spoke to genuinely, Ruby wondered how he could have raised a liar like Yang.

"Love you too, Dad." 

The line cut out. 

Ruby sighed and looked down at her order form. Now she knew when she wanted to collect the flowers, she could fill out all the details on the forms. After that would come the long part, making the baskets. 

She filled out the remainder of the forms, even when writing quickly, it took a long time, because there was so much. Fortunately, she was a fast writer, and it was done inside of the hour. Next she had to order the supplies for the basket. She decided to forego going to the crafts store like she had initially planned, not wanting to brace herself for the winter air, only to go out on an endeavour she knew was pointless. 

She pulled out her laptop and opened it, punching in the password and waiting for the screen to unlock. After the screen activated she navigated her way onto the site she usually ordered supplies from, scrolling through and selecting the materials she wanted, grimacing at the subtotal; her business had never struggled financially, but that was certainly not thanks to this website. She made sure to check the express delivery tick. She pressed the order button. Now all there was to do was wait. 

She sat back in her chair and looked at the roof. The light was flickering. She'd have to fix that. She pondered to herself. She had intended to do something after she finished her work. What was it? She glanced at the still open sketchbook, and the drawing of Weiss contained on the page. The white haired girl had such a casual beauty, that made her so rewarding to draw. Maybe she should… 

She picked up her phone, suddenly remembering the task that she had forgotten; texting Weiss back. She didn't quite believe the time stamp from Weiss' text, had it really been two and a half hours since she received it? It didn't feel like she had been working for that long. 

She tapped her phone screen, watching the letters of her message appearing in sequence. 

_I'll be sure to let him know. Just updating you on the state of the work, everything is ordered, and I can get to work on the baskets when the materials arrive tomorrow._

She quickly reread the message, checking everything was in order before hitting send. She didn't suppose Weiss should feel the need to respond to it, so she stood up, intent to put on her coat and post the flower order slips when her phone buzzed in her hand. 

_Thanks._

She tucked the phone away in her pocket, satisfied that Weiss' response would go no further, but as soon as she removed her phone from her pocket her phone buzzed again. 

_I liked your uncle. He was… interesting._

Ruby was confused as to why Weiss would reply with something like that. It seemed like… small talk. Weiss was engaging in small talk with Ruby… over text. And not only was Weiss engaging in small talk with Ruby over text, Weiss was the instigator of the small talk. Ruby stood confused for a second before snapping herself out of it and typing her reply. 

_you guys hardly spoke at all?_

_Well, he was a man of few words, I can appreciate that._

Ruby chuckled to herself. She had never thought of her uncle as a quiet man but she supposed Weiss' wasn't wrong. 

_You don't seem like the type he'd get along with…_

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_Well… He was never especially fond of high society, let's just leave it at that. What happened with your chauffeur in the end?_

_He had a family emergency. Not very professional of him but once he explained the nature of the situation there wasn't much I could say. I decided not to press the issue further._

_Fair enough. I'm guessing he's keeping his job then?_

_Yeah. What about you? Have you drawn anything new today?_

Ruby glanced again at her sketchpad. 

_No… I don't really draw anymore. Not properly anyway._

_That drawing of me last night wasn't proper?_

_Nah, just a sketch, maybe I'll finish it though._

_I can't wait to see it. You said you didn't study art?_

_I did, before I left college. It was my major._

_Oh? What was that like?_

_Fun for the most part. Some of the projects were boring tho. I don't want to draw landscapes! I'm not a 400 year old geezer!_

Weiss responded with a laughing face emoji. 

_So what about you, what did you study?_

_I majored in Music and Philosophy was my minor._

_Ooh that's deep. Philosophy sounds cool, what was it like?_

_Really, really, boring!_

Ruby chuckled. 

_Yeah? Didn't find out the meaning of life?_

_Oh I did, in music class._

_Ooh that's even deeper! When did you graduate?_

_Last year was my third year._

Weiss was two years older than her. Ruby stopped for a second, counting on her fingers to make sure she was right.

_Wait, and you went to Beacon?!_

_Yes, why?_

_Weiss, we were like right down the hall from each other!_

_I suppose we were. We probably walked past each other. I spent a lot of time doing extra work in the Music suites towards the end of the year._

Ruby's smile faded slightly. 

_Oh, well I wasn't really around at the end of the year._

_Oh, my apologies. If you don't mind me asking, why leave school? You're so talented, it seems a waste to just leave art behind?_

Ruby stopped smiling completely.

_Well… I was on the track team too._

It was a few minutes before she got another reply, but she wasn't especially eager for the conversation to continue either way. 

_Oh. I'm so sorry._

Ruby grimaced at the words she had heard so many times. Before she could reply, another message came through. 

_If you wanted to talk about it, I'm only a message away._

_No it's fine. Thank you though. I have to go. My uncle is here._

Ruby lied, but felt like all the joy had been sucked from speaking to Weiss. She needed some air. She stepped out, locking the shop door behind her and setting off walking towards the woods. Yang wasn't coming to pick her up tonight anyways, she may as well walk home. 


End file.
